


Secret Hospital Squabbles

by GachMoBrea



Series: Family Built Intricacies [4]
Category: White Collar
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Angry!Neal, Concerned!Keller, Gen, Hispitals, I don't know, OOC, Peter is Neal & Keller's DAD, Twins, Unexplained Injuries, one-shot?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-14
Updated: 2016-09-14
Packaged: 2018-08-14 23:43:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8033623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GachMoBrea/pseuds/GachMoBrea
Summary: Neal got hurt during a case and has to stay in the hospital for a few days.After the regular visitors, late at night when only nurses come to bother him, he has a conversation with someone he loathes.





	Secret Hospital Squabbles

Neal hates hospitals. He hates that his father knows he hates hospitals and had properly warned the staff of all his tricks to get out of the place.  
"It's just for a few days," Peter had assured him before the petite, blonde nurse physically pushed him out of the room. As he left, his father had called out to him, "I'll see you first thing in the morning!"  
That was almost four hours ago. Time was dragging its feet and Neal kept tossing and turning in his sleep. At least he had a room to himself.

When he finally DID fall asleep, he was awoken by a nurse to take more medication.  
After the woman left, the ex-con tried to relax back into the position he was in.

"That's one thing I'll never understand about hospitals," an unwanted voice softly scoffs from the shadows. "Why nurses wake up their patients in order to take sleeping pills. If they're already asleep, why bother?"  
Neal clenches his teeth tightly in order to prevent himself from groaning in annoyance or growling in anger. He glares at the darkness by the window and seethes.

"Keller."

"Hey little brother," the conman pulls the window's curtains to let the moon illuminate his confident smirk. "How's the wound?"  
"Why are you here, Keller?" Neal ignores the man's act of concern. "You must want something. What is it?"  
"Can't a man be concerned about his baby brother?"  
"I am NOT," Neal nearly spits, bristling at the man's demeaning tone. "the younger brother. YOU are nothing more than a criminal."  
Keller tisks sadly at him, "So much hate, Caffrey. Why is that?"  
"I don't know, Keller," the ex-con remarks sarcastically. "Maybe it's the people you've killed right in front of me!"  
"Shh..." The other puts a finger to his lips. "Wouldn't want to have those lovely nurse ladies come in here in order to restrain you or anything."  
"Restrain ME?" Neal scoffs. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't scream my head off until the cops came to drag you away."  
"Peter Burke."  
The ex-con scowls. "Peter wouldn't have a problem with your arrest. In fact, it might put his mind at ease knowing where you were at all times. A nice, safe, place. Like prison."  
"Dad knows what I'm up to," Keller remarks vaguely. "If I'm arrested though, he'll try to intervene on my behalf and that'll get him under the microscope of his superiors. You don't want to risk him getting into trouble over me, do you?"  
"If you're trying to imply that Peter is helping you behind my back, you'll have to go somewhere else to sell that load of crap."  
"What I'm saying," Keller takes a few steps closer to the man on the bed. "Is that if you get me arrested today, it'll cause problems for Dad tomorrow."  
"You'll never change, Keller," Neal growls. "Always using other people's weaknesses against them. Always twisting the knife until you get every drop of blood from them."  
"At least I'm not keeping a treasure hidden way from our father."  
"What?" the ex-con's heart skips a beat, the monitor unhelpfully telling his enemy about his surprise. He masks his shock with a frown. "What are you talking about?"  
"I know you have the treasure, Caffrey," Keller tells him. "I'm not the only one who knows either. They'll be coming after you. Coming after Peter and Elizabeth too."  
"Why?" The secret of their blood bond was supposedly still partially a secret. Unless, "Did you go and announce the fact that Peter Burke was my father to all your criminal buddies?"  
"I keep my secrets to myself," his nemesis shakes his head. "But if I can figure it out, others can too. 'My man', the one you locked up? He'll be willing to trade a nice tidbit like that in order to gain favor on the inside."  
"We had him put into solitary."  
"Can't keep information from flowing just by putting a man in a box, Caffrey," Keller sounds disappointed. "All he needs is the right person with the right interest to be there at the right time."  
"What do you know, Keller?" Neal pushes himself up onto an elbow to try to intimidate the man as best he can. The world tilts a little and he remembers that he was given something to knock him out. The other man had horrible timing.  
"All I know is that people are after my family," the con shrugs. "I don't like people messing with my things. I just wanted to warn you. That's all. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go flirt with the blonde before I head home."  
"Wait!" Neal reaches out for the man but his body doesn't cooperate and he just falls backwards. Everything is too heavy. His head throbs, but not in pain. Which is a really annoying and weird feeling.  
"Don't worry, Caffrey," Keller winks at him. "I'll be in touch."  
Then the man is out the door, leaving a tired and frustrated Neal to helplessly fall back asleep and have to try to remember the warning in the morning......

\---

**Author's Note:**

> ***I was inspired to continue by "Lov_pb"!***
> 
> I own nothing.


End file.
